David McIllece

David McIllece

David McIllece was the first U.S. Air Force officer sent to India as an Olmsted Scholar (www.olmstedfoundation.org), where he graduated from Jawaharlal Nehru University with a master’s degree in politics (international affairs). McIllece applied the perspectives and insights gained from his studies in India as a founding member of the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) India Strategic Focus Group. While at USPACOM, he advanced the U.S.–India defense relationship through intensive work in strategic analysis, senior leader engagements, security assistance, cooperative research and development, and foreign military sales program management.

McIllece also is an experienced flight test engineer, regional affairs strategist, and defense acquisition leader. He commanded a detachment of the U.S. Air Force’s premier C4ISR test squadron and experienced test planning, reporting, test safety, risk management, systems engineering, and technical program management on multiple programs. A distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, with over 550 hours of flight test experience as airborne test conductor and Flight Test Engineer (FTE), he also has experience in information operations and analysis of air defense and command and control systems. McIllece is a Level III joint qualified officer and a certified Air Force foreign area officer, with ability in Hindi and Spanish languages.